Some great news in the last week, as the Australian television networks announce their shows for 2024, we get news that Shaun will be back on our screens after being absent for most of 2023 (and pretty much since the end of Mad As Hell). Firstly on SBS: Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey, where Shaun will travel abroad with some of Australia’s leading comedians to explore their cultural roots in. Shaun describes it as “Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery but with a budget”. And on the ABC: Shaun Micallef’s Unnamed Project. Ok, so we don’t know much about this one, except that it’s NOT Mad As Hell with a ..read more

It’s been very quiet on the Shaun front since his book tour and Mad As Hell both finished up last year, apart from a couple of cameo appearances in the Roast of Paul Hogan and Aunty Donna’s Coffee Cafe. As a last hurrah for Mad As Hell, the Australian TV awards – “The Logies” – have nominated both the show and Shaun for a few awards: Shaun for Most Popular Personality (the Gold Logie) Shaun for Most Popular Presenter (the Bert Newton award) Mad As Hell for Most Popular Comedy Program Mad As Hell for Most Outstanding Comedy Program To my memory, this seems like the highest number of Shaun rel ..read more

With the final episode of Season 14 of Mad As Hell this week, what else will Shaun be up to for the year? Firstly, there will be another season of Mad As Hell this year, starting from August – the election will be done and, no matter the result, Shaun and the team will have some new form of Government to poke fun at. There’s also a new show this year – Shaun Micallef’s Brain Eisteddfod! It’s a quiz show, a little less zany than Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, pitting Year 11 students against each other, University Challenge style. He’s pretty excited to give a platform for a group he feels is u ..read more

Anyone keeping an eye on Shaun’s Twitter feed after episode 3 of the current season (14) of Mad as Hell, may have noticed this: Turns out Shaun caused a mini-Twitter storm over this censorship, despite his obvious joke on the whole situation. It seems much more likely a self-edit by Shaun or the MaH team; due to the recent loss of life due to a shark attack in Sydney harbour, Tosh’s segment equivalating our debt to a shark bite seemed a little tasteless (pardon the pun). Basically this bit was re-edited into a similar topic but different approach. Anyway, if you’re pedantic (and you’ve read th ..read more

Over the years, Shaun has written books that have touched on facets of his life. For the first time he’s put it all together in an autobiography: Tripping Over Myself, a Memoir of a Life in Comedy. There’s also a book tour around Australia where you can see Shaun in conversation with various people about the book and his career. The book is available from the 5th October. I’ve read so much about Shaun’s career, I’m looking forward to reading it from Shaun’s experience, probably with a few non-sequiturs and garden path sentences thrown in! Although I can’t help feeling the release of this book ..read more

The 172nd and final episode of Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell has aired, and we now have one less thing to look forward to on Wednesdays next year. In the show’s early years, there was often a “will it return” question after each season which soon dissipated as it proved continually popular in the ratings and with the ABC. Eventually we took it for granted that it would be on our screens for years to come. However it was Shaun himself who decided to call time after 10 years, seemingly much to the pains of those at the ABC and ITV. It has truly been Shaun’s magnum opus, second only (just) to The ..read more

Stephen Hall is a man of many talents, as well as being is really lovely person. On Mad As Hell, he plays Darius Horsham, Crane Girdle, Donald McEngadine, Wendell Vestibule and so many more. He gave us some of his time to answer questions about Mad As Hell and what’s coming next. You’ve worked on Mad As Hell since it began, originally as a writer – what have you enjoyed most about being part of the show? So many things! The opportunity to do what I do – comedy acting – in so many roles and guises. The chance to explore and play, and to hone and tweak my skills. The camaraderie of working with ..read more

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In very happy news, Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell is back for a 15th season on Wednesday 20th July at 8:40pm (pushed back because of Gruen, but this nicely allows Shaun fans time to switch from the Brain Eisteddfod on Channel 10 which finishes 8:30pm ish). A new government, and a new set of politicians to poke fun at. But all good things must come to an end too, and Shaun has confirmed on Twitter than this will be the last season. He has advised it was his decision: “After 11 years and 15 seasons, I just felt it was time for someone younger to take advantage of the resources and opportunities o ..read more

We now know that Shaun Micallef’s Brain Eisteddfod will premiere on July 20 on Channel 10 (and all the associated catch-up locations) at 7:30pm. The new quiz show is a blend of Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation and the old University Challenge style shows, with teams of Year 11 High School students pitted against each other to determine who has the biggest brains. Shaun wanted to feature Year 11 students because he felt they were under-represented on TV, and jumped at the chance to demonstrate that ‘intelligent life’ exists on the planet. It’s expected to be a little less zany than TAYG, but still ..read more